Coriolanus

In Short

This play depicts the rise and fall of Caius Martius, a brilliant but arrogant Roman general who finds himself at odds with the city he protects. When he is exiled by political rivals for his open contempt of the common people, he defects to his enemy and marches against Rome. The story explores the volatile intersection of military duty, political instability, and the suffocating weight of family expectation. It has endured as a masterwork because it refuses to simplify its protagonist, presenting him as both a savior and a monster.

The Story

The Roman populace is in a state of starvation-fueled rebellion, demanding grain and a voice in the government. Caius Martius, an elite soldier and staunch aristocrat, views these commoners with profound disgust, mocking their cowardice and fickleness. He is a man of singular focus: the battlefield. When war breaks out against the Volscians, Martius distinguishes himself through superhuman acts of bravery at the city of Corioles, eventually earning the honorific "Coriolanus."

Upon his return, the ruling Senate pushes for him to be named Consul. However, the position requires him to perform the customary rituals of humility, which involve showing his battle scars to the citizens and asking for their votes. Coriolanus finds this performance abhorrent. He views it as a betrayal of his nature to beg for the approval of those he considers his inferiors. Despite his initial reluctance, he allows his mother, Volumnia—the architect of his fierce ambition—to persuade him to go through the motions.

The local Tribunes, Sicinius and Brutus, quickly capitalize on his obvious disdain for the people. They manipulate the citizens into revoking their support, branding Coriolanus a traitor to the public good. When confronted, the general’s pride boils over. He denounces the democratic process and the authority of the Tribunes, leading to a volatile standoff. The Senate, fearing for the city's stability, is forced to banish him.

Exiled and alone, Coriolanus seeks out his greatest enemy, the Volscian general Tullus Aufidius. In a surprising turn, the two rivals join forces to march on Rome. As the army approaches the city, Rome’s leaders are paralyzed by fear, realizing their former champion is now their greatest threat. Finally, Volumnia, accompanied by Coriolanus’s wife and son, travels to the enemy camp to beg for mercy. Moved by his mother’s entreaties, Coriolanus agrees to a peace treaty, sparing Rome but effectively signing his own death warrant.

Returning to the Volscian capital, Coriolanus is met with resentment. Aufidius, now bitter over being eclipsed by the Roman’s influence, uses the peace deal to incite a mob against him. Calling him a "boy of tears" for abandoning his vengeance, Aufidius and his conspirators assassinate Coriolanus. The play ends with a somber funeral march, with Aufidius—despite his betrayal—admitting that his rival deserves a "Noble Memory."

How It Unfolds

The Roman unrest Rome is divided by a food shortage that pits the starving plebeians against the aristocratic Senate. Into this tension steps Caius Martius, whose blunt, insulting, and dismissive treatment of the common people sets the stage for future conflict.

The war for Corioles Martius leaves the city to lead a military campaign against the Volscians, achieving a brutal, solitary victory. This display of raw power solidifies his status as a national hero while simultaneously highlighting his inability to relate to his own soldiers.

The failed candidacy Against his better judgment, Martius submits to the ritual of asking for the people’s vote to become Consul. His performance is so transparently mocking that the Tribunes easily turn the public against him, leading to his trial and subsequent banishment from Rome.

The pact with the enemy Driven by a desire for revenge, Martius seeks out his old rival, Aufidius, in Antium. The two forge an uneasy alliance to destroy the city that just cast its greatest defender into exile.

The mother’s intervention As the Volscian army looms over Rome, Volumnia confronts her son. Her appeal to his sense of honor and duty breaks his resolve, forcing him to choose between his personal vendetta and his family’s survival.

The final confrontation Returning to the Volscians, Coriolanus attempts to justify the peace he brokered, but his pride remains his undoing. Aufidius triggers a fatal outburst, leading to the general’s death at the hands of the very people he sought to lead.

The People

Caius Martius (Coriolanus) is a man whose identity is entirely bound to the sword. He is defined by a rigid, unyielding integrity that makes him a peerless soldier but a disastrous statesman. He wants to be true to his nature above all else, which makes him incapable of the compromise required for peace.

Volumnia is the iron-willed matriarch of the Martius family. She is the source of her son’s martial values and his biggest champion; she wants him to hold the highest office in Rome. While she loves him deeply, her own ambition for his status is ultimately what forces him to abandon his vengeance and walk to his death.

Tullus Aufidius serves as the mirror image of Coriolanus. As the Volscian general, he begins as a fierce competitor who respects Martius’s skill, but his envy grows as he finds himself relegated to a secondary status. He is the pragmatic, treacherous counterpoint to the hero's stubbornness.

Sicinius and Brutus are the people’s Tribunes. They are shrewd, populist politicians who fear the power Coriolanus wields. They work to protect their influence by turning the people’s fears into a weapon, orchestrating the general’s downfall with calculated precision.

Menenius is an older patrician who attempts to act as a buffer between the nobility and the people. He provides a voice of moderation and humor, though he is ultimately helpless to stop the collision of wills between the factions.

In Its Own Voice

"He that will giue good words to thee, wil flatter / Beneath abhorring."

Coriolanus expresses his utter disgust for the democratic process, insisting that asking the people for their favor is a degrading act of dishonesty.

"He that depends / Vpon your fauours, swimmes with finnes of Leade, / And hewes downe Oakes, with rushes."

In the same speech, he compares the fragility of political popularity to the impossibility of trying to cut down trees with reeds.

"I am glad thou hast set thy mercy, & thy Honor / At difference in thee."

Aufidius recognizes that by sparing Rome, Coriolanus has fundamentally fractured his own rigid sense of self-worth.

What It's Really About

This work serves as a stark examination of the tensions between individual excellence and the collective needs of a society. It asks whether a hero can exist in a state that requires compromise, or if that very heroism is inherently anti-social. Through the character of Coriolanus, the play questions the value of "absolute" honor in a world that thrives on the "slippery turns" of political necessity. It is not merely a tragedy of one man’s pride, but a meditation on the instability of any government that relies on the "stinking breaths" of a populace that can change its mind with every passing moment.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate a complex, unsympathetic, yet fascinating protagonist will find much to admire in Coriolanus. It is a dense, intense experience that feels strikingly modern in its focus on populism, political manipulation, and the media-like frenzy of public opinion. The language is sharp and biting, filled with insults and military metaphors that cut straight to the bone.

However, the reader should be prepared for the challenges of the text. The period's unique printing style, which includes inconsistent spellings and odd substitutions, can be jarring at first. Moreover, the attitudes toward the common people are elitist and often brutal, which may strike the modern reader as harsh or alienating. Yet, the reward for pushing through these barriers is a profound psychological study of a man who is literally "more than a creeping thing," a figure who moves through his life like an engine of war. It is a play that stays with you, not because the hero is likeable, but because his tragedy feels inevitable. It forces you to confront the reality that a society’s greatest champions are often those most ill-equipped to live within its borders.